When Condi Met Gaddafi
My last few months [in office] did not go quietly or without consequence. They even brought historic moments—none more so than my much anticipated visit to Libya to meet with Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. When the Libyans gave up their weapons of mass destruction in 2003, there was a clear diplomatic quid pro quo: in exchange, we’d help them to return to good standing in the international community. But it would not be easy and not only because of Qaddafi’s long record of brutality.
Libya had arrested five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor several years before on trumped-up charges that they had deliberately infected more than four hundred Libyan children with HIV. The medics insisted that they were innocent, but the Libyan courts had sentenced the group to death. The United States repeatedly urged Libya to find a way to release them, and I was grateful for the dedication and leadership of European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner on the issue. Libya’s decision in 2007 to commute the sentences and allow the medics to return home was due in large part to Benita’s resolve.
We had to make sure, too, that we were sufficiently attentive to the sensitivities and needs of the families of the victims of the colonel’s decades-long reign of terror. I withheld my visit until we could secure a Libyan claims settlement for families whose relatives had been killed in attacks such as the bombing by Libyan agents of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.
My upcoming trip gave me powerful leverage in these negotiations because Qaddafi desperately wanted me to visit Tripoli.
My upcoming trip gave me powerful leverage in these negotiations because Qaddafi desperately wanted me to visit Tripoli.
There were two reasons for this: one traditional and the other, well, a little disconcerting. Obviously, the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state since 1953 would be a major milestone on the country’s path to inter- national acceptability. But Qaddafi also had a slightly eerie fascination with me personally, asking visitors why his “African princess” wouldn’t visit him.
I decided to ignore the latter and dwell on the former to prepare for the trip. The arrangements were not easy, with all manner of Libyan demands, including that I meet the leader in his tent. Needless to say, I declined the invitation and met him in his formal residence.
Stopping first in Portugal and staying with my friends Ambassador Thomas Stephenson and his wife, Barbara, I took advantage of Foreign Minister Luis Amado’s knowledge of Libya and Qaddafi. He suggested that I open the conversation with a discussion of Africa. “And don’t be surprised when he says something crazy,” he cautioned. “He’ll get back on track.”
When I arrived in Tripoli, I was asked to wait at one of the only Western-style hotels in the city. There was no doubt that the capital had once been a beautiful place, but it appeared run-down and tired. The only bright lights seemed to be those illuminating the many, many billboards of Qaddafi and his “inspirational” sayings. In speaking with Libyans, a distinct generational divide manifested itself. While the senior staff spoke English fluently and reminded me of my European colleagues, younger officials appeared to have had fewer educational opportunities and little contact with the West. It was another reminder of the sad consequences of Qaddafi’s monstrous rule.
After several hours, we were summoned to the residence, where I greeted the Libyan leader and sat down to hundreds of camera flashes. Qaddafi said a few completely appropriate words, as did I, and the press left. We began the conversation as Amado had suggested, talking about Africa in general and Sudan in particular. Libya, he promised, would help with alternative routes for humanitarian supplies to the refugees. This is going pretty well, I thought. He doesn’t seem crazy. Then, as Amado had predicted, he suddenly stopped speaking and began rolling his head back and forth. “Tell President Bush to stop talking about a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine!” he barked. “It should be one state! Israeltine!” Perhaps he didn’t like what I said next. In a sudden fit, he fired two translators in the room. Okay, I thought, this is Qaddafi.
It was Ramadan at the time of my visit, and after sundown the “Brother Leader” insisted that I join him for dinner in his private kitchen. Colby Cooper, who had overseen the arrangements for the trip, protested that this hadn’t been the plan. My security detail did as well, especially when they were told to stay outside. I thought I could take care of myself and went in. At the end of dinner, Qaddafi told me that he’d made a videotape for me. Uh oh, I thought, what is this going to be? It was a quite innocent collection of photos of me with world leaders—President Bush, Vladimir Putin, Hu Jintao, and so on—set to the music of a song called “Black Flower in the White House,” written for me by a Libyan composer. It was weird, but at least it wasn’t raunchy.
The press was fascinated with my trip, and I sat down for an interview with CNN’s Zain Verjee (who often worked with producer Elise Labott on State Department coverage). Zain asked me about my personal impressions of Qaddafi. I remember that I came away from the visit realizing how much Qaddafi lives inside his own head, in a kind of alternate reality. As I watched events unfold in the spring and summer of 2011, I wondered if he even understood fully what was going on around him. And I was very, very glad that we had disarmed him of his most dangerous weapons of mass destruction. There in his bunker, making his last stand, I have no doubt he would have used them.
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Condoleezza Rice is the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science at Stanford University. From January 2005 to 2009, she served as the 66th secretary of state of the United States. Before that, she served as assistant to the president for national security affairs (national security advisor) from January 2001 to 2005.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Condoleezza Rice is the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and professor of political science at Stanford University. From January 2005 to 2009, she served as the 66th secretary of state of the United States. Before that, she served as assistant to the president for national security affairs (national security advisor) from January 2001 to 2005.
For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at editorial@thedailybeast.com.
Comments
Like Hillary she is unique
What more can I say..
From the GripeVine.. & Donah..//
Then look at Hillary or Madeline Albright and just imagine what poor and hungry people around the world think upon seeing them.
CaOndi R., Thanks a million form your service to our country,
And for your genuine loyalty to Pres.Bush!
love you, both!
When Qaddafi saw Saddam Hussein dug out of his hole and hanged, Qaddafi then gave up his Nuclear Bomb program to the UN (fact).
If Qaddafi had continued his bomb program and maybe had a nuclear weapon, NATO would have never gone in there to remove him.
So none of this would have happened, none of this could have happened, had not George Bush removed Saddam Hussein.
Any way you want to add this thing up the victory goes to George W Bush and Condolezza Rice.
All the more reason to deal now with Iran quickly before they can threaten us with an atomic bomb.
I hope Condi won´t see this outcry.... Donah..//
Donah..//
If YOU had any brains you would learn English!
I love how each extreme bashes the other. What the libs say about the right and what the right says about the libs could easily be flipped around in almost every case.
Both extremes are wrong 97% of the time.
The only hope for the U.S. is 85% of the power going to the moderates where 85% of the voters’ are.
and BTW.... where does one learn English.... ??
In Cambridge to start... in Oxford t graduate.... Donah..//
When Qaddafi saw Saddam Hussein dug out of his hole and hanged, Qaddafi then gave up his Nuclear Bomb program to the UN (fact).
If Qaddafi had continued his bomb program and maybe had a nuclear weapon, NATO would have never gone in there to remove him.
So none of this would have happened, none of this could have happened, had not George Bush removed Saddam Hussein.
Any way you want to add this thing up the victory goes to George W Bush and Condolezza Rice.
All the more reason to deal now with Iran quickly before they can threaten us with an atomic bomb.
If Bush and the GOP had any brains they would have went after Iran in the first place...always has and always will be the real threat. Too late now though. Friggin GOP, put us all at risk!
He should have taken HIM with him.... as a son...
And we wouldn´t have had this downpoor of bad luck we had...
Donah..//
finally! the answer to that oft-heard question...
"how are the GOP Presidential candidates like Muammar Gaddafi?"
oldpoliticaljunkie